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What we offer
Every PCR Inc. program is free, open to neighbors, and designed around one question: what would have helped this family a month earlier? Below is how the work is structured, who it is for, and how to join.
Program 01
A structured, confidential conversation between household members, guided by a trained neutral facilitator. Mediation is not therapy and it is not court. It is a practical process for reaching agreements people actually keep.
Families come to us over co-parenting schedules, blended-household expectations, caregiving responsibilities for an aging parent, money stress, curfews, school attendance, and the long silences that follow an argument nobody resolved. The facilitator does not decide who is right. The facilitator makes sure each person is heard completely, surfaces the underlying interests behind each position, and helps the family write its own agreement.
Mediation is voluntary at every stage. Anyone can stop, and nothing said in the room is reported anywhere. We are an educational and community support organization, not a clinical or legal provider. When a situation calls for licensed counseling, legal representation, or emergency safety planning, we say so directly and connect the family to a partner who is qualified to help.
Program 02
When harm happens, the traditional question is which rule was broken and what punishment follows. Restorative practice asks three better questions: who was hurt, what do they need, and whose obligation is it to make it right.
Proactive circles held before anything goes wrong. Neighbors, students, or staff sit in a circle, pass a talking piece, and answer the same prompt in turn. The practice builds the relational foundation that makes hard conversations survivable later.
Convened after an incident, with the person harmed at the center and participation that is always voluntary. The person responsible hears the full impact of what happened and takes on concrete, agreed-upon obligations to repair it.
Support for a young person returning to a classroom, team, or block after a suspension or absence. Reentry circles rebuild the relationships that were interrupted so the return does not become the start of the next conflict.
We partner with Boston schools, athletic programs, and after-school providers to facilitate circles, coach staff on restorative language, and support students through reentry. Exclusion removes a student from the room. Restorative practice keeps them in it while still holding them fully accountable.
Bring circles to your schoolTenant associations, faith communities, and neighborhood groups use circles to work through disputes that have been simmering for months. We facilitate, provide the structure, and hand the practice over so the group can run it without us.
Request a facilitator
Program 03
Short, practical sessions for caregivers who want tools rather than theory. Each workshop teaches one skill, gives you a chance to practice it in the room, and sends you home with a one-page reminder.
Workshops are educational, not clinical. We do not diagnose, and we do not replace licensed care. Caregivers looking for therapeutic support are connected to Boston-area providers through our resource directory.
Program 04
Unifying families through literacy and technology is written into our mission because both are conflict-prevention tools. A person who can read a lease, a school notice, or a text thread carefully is a person with more options.
Caregivers and children read the same short text and discuss it together. The discussion questions are built to surface perspective-taking: what did each character want, what did they miss, what else could they have done.
Hands-on sessions covering privacy settings, school portals, benefits applications, scam recognition, and the platforms young people actually use. Closing the digital divide inside a household removes a common source of friction.
Community art nights where neighbors build something together. Shared creative work lowers defenses, gives quieter participants a way in, and produces something the block can point to afterward.
Program 05 · Flagship
PCR Inc.'s community chess league is a welcoming space where families, neighbors, and community members come together through strategy, learning, and friendly competition while practicing conflict resolution through communication, patience, and positive engagement.
Whether you are brand new to chess or an experienced player, the program is designed to encourage critical thinking, teamwork, and meaningful community connection in a supportive and inclusive environment. Sets and instruction are provided. Families stay for the conversation as much as the games.
Common questions
Support the mission
Every gift underwrites mediation sessions, literacy circles, chess sets, and the facilitators who sit with Boston families when tension runs highest. One hundred percent of donations stay in the neighborhoods we serve.
Donate to PCR Inc.Give your time
Coach a chess night, staff a resource table, mentor a teen, or lend professional skills to a growing Boston nonprofit organization. We will match you with volunteer opportunities that fit your schedule and strengths.
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